So how many of you out there are like me?

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I just thought I'd find out how many of you are like me. I'm married, got kids, a mortgage, new SUV payment, hefty daycare bill, rising fuel prices, etc...All that just eats away any money I would ever think about spending on my car, or SUV for that matter. The bills never stop coming and neither does stuff that needs to be done, like vehicle maintenance...just dropped over $1k on my Trailblazer, flushing the tranny (replaced with full synthetic) both differentials, transfer case, plus 4 brand new tires...all in December, the worst month of the year to spend that kind of money when you have 4 kids like I do!

Now, even though I make a decent wage, and so does my wife who is an RN. That's not to say that there's extra money, because there really isn't too much of that. Like most of America, I think we spend what we make, and when we have extra, we have a little fun, because it doesn't happen too often. That however, has put a serious crunch on my modifying my car. The only real splurge we have is our cable and internet. I think we grossly over pay for those, but when there's not really any competition, what do you do? And that's our ONLY extra expense besides the required stuff. So there's not much that we can cut out of our daily living expenses in order to finance my car hobbie. The result was looking at getting a part-time job. Yeah, who really wants a part-time job on top of a full time job? Not too many people want it, but many people need it. I was in the same boat.

So what does a guy do, when he really wants to play with his toy? Believe it or not, my wife came up with a pretty good idea. Instead of working for minimum wage (pretty much an insult when you have as much schooling and training as I have) at a local fast food joint or large "jack of all things" stores, she suggested a paper route. Yeah, a paper route. I had one when I was 13-15 or so. It wasn't too bad. I never did like getting up in the morning at all. But the paper was advertising for routes earning up to 650 a month. I called, got a route paying over $600 per month. Yes, folks, that's an extra $7200~ a year. Yeah, I do kind of feel like a early teenager again, when that was my "job." But it's really easy getting up knowing that just by putting in a relatively easy 2 hours a day, I can earn an extra $600 a month to pay bills down, get some go-fast goodies for my car, or even finance a family vacation (did I mention that I have 4 kids?). Now, I'm not planning on keeping this route forever. But if I can keep it for the next 3 years or so, it should pay for a lot of things like outstanding credit card bills, that trip to MA and ME this summer for my sister's wedding and even some go fast or look good parts for my car.

The really good thing about it too, is that it's not just me doing it. My wife is out there every morning with me and usually one of the older 2 of my kids likes to help too. Yeah, I've got to pay the kids a little wage, but then they've got a "job" too that they can earn money and start saving now too.

So if any of you out there are like me, consider something like a paper route. It's easy work. It's independent work, and best of all, it makes considerably more than minimum wage does.

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True, Susie, so true. It is not the material things at all. Which is why we don't have many. I would love to be able to provide more for my kids, but it just isn't there now. Now, I'm not complaining at all. I'm an E-7 active duty in the Nebraska Army National Guard, and my wife is an RN. We make decent money. But what we make is paid out in providing for our kids. We don't always get what they want, but they are not left wanting for the things they need. We sacrifice the fun stuff for us in order to provide sufficiently for them. My car hobbie has never come out of the usual budget. It's always been extra money from my traveling (don't have that position any more so no traveling now) and a lot came from insurance. I had hail damage and a kid pulled out in front of me...that's how I got most of the stuff done to my car. But since my diagnosis, I haven't done anything to it other than get the alternator rebuilt and get 4 new tires. But I've found a way to add a little extra to the pot for the fun stuff. Trust me, my car will not see a lot of that money. Most will go to the family for fun stuff for all of us. But the car is fun for the whole family too. Even my youngest daughter was asking me not too long ago when I could take her on a ride again because it's been a long time since she got to ride in my car. She's only 5 and after my heart!

I read an article re ently of a man who got divorced at 53 his wife took a lot, his job went down the drain he lost his home his family was no where around an only child, he got a job ata starbucks making 10.50 an hour to pay his health insurance due to his cancer and he is now happier then ever. He has realized material things do not beam a thing it is what is in your heart, soul and finding God.